The Festival
by KazuKomatsu
Summary: Alibaba helps Hakuryuu prepare for the upcoming Sindrian festival.


The Festival

Alibaba yawned and stretched his arms out as the dawnlight barged through his window for a full frontal assault. Making a fist, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and wiped the dribble of drool from the corner of his mouth. Tumbling off the three-foot tall silken bed he spent the night in, he shook his night robes off and made his way to his private bathing facilities. Grabbing a jug from a corner of the room, he dumped some lukewarm water over his head. He picked up a brush from a shelf on the wall, took some soap from a vase, and started scrubbing himself. After not too long, he dried himself with a towel and walked to his wardrobe. He put on a blue vest and wrapped some tan fabric around himself. He fastened a red rope around his neck and clipped some red and green jewelry to his ears. With a hunched back, he wearily opened the door to his suite and wobbled into the halls of the palace.

Sinbad had given him a special task to perform this morning, much to his dismay. Grumbling to himself, he winced as the pain from the bruises and strains from training with Sharrkan resurfaced along his legs, arms, and torso. He was getting nowhere with his swordsmanship training! Sharrkan was so lithe with his scimitar that no matter how he tried, Alibaba just couldn't keep up! It was no help either that he still couldn't perform a full body djinn equip. How was he supposed to save Balbadd in this state?

A gap in the wall on his right opened up to an open-roof garden where Morgiana was crouching and picking germanders. She looked his way to find a sour pout stuck on his face. She puffed her cheeks and squinted her eyes at him.

"What is it?" Alibaba squeaked.

"You look like you're slacking off."

"I am not!" he huffed.

"If you say so. I heard that you're supposed to be doing a special task for Sinbad. Try not to mess it up too badly."

"Why does nobody believe in me? Am I just completely useless and hopeless?" Alibaba melted into a blob of tears.

"I have to go help prepare for the Sindrian festival tomorrow," announced Morgiana, ignoring Alibaba's whimpers. "Good luck." She stood up, nodded at him, and strode off into another corridor.

That's right! The Sindrian festival was tomorrow, and Alibaba had planned to have some fun preparing for the festivities. Alibaba squinted in irritation at the realization that those plans probably weren't going to happen. Was it possible to make his mood any worse?

Finally reaching the chamber that Sinbad had instructed him to meet at, he parted the curtains draped over the entryway to find a decently spacious room that was completely empty save for Ja'far standing in the middle of it.

The busybody strutted over to him and shoved a scroll into his chest. "These are your instructions," Ja'far said dryly as he proceeded to walk right past him and out the door. With a puzzled look, Alibaba looked down to the scroll in his arms. Slowly prying it out from his limbs, he unrolled it. All that was written on it was, "Teach him to dance for the festival."

Who? Ja'far?

He then heard footsteps and the curtains parting behind him again. Alibaba spun around. "What the hell Jafa'ar, are you seriously –"

Hakuryuu Ren stood in the doorway with a blank look on his face. "Good morning, Alibaba-dono," he spoke courteously and bowed.

Alibaba's face turned redder than Amon's sword.

"Is there something the matter, Alibaba-dono?"

"E-e-e-e-eto…" Alibaba stuttered. His eyes darted around the room until he realized he was still holding the scroll. He turned it around to show Hakuryuu what was written on it.

Streaks of red soared across Hakuryuu's composed face. "S-S-Sinbad told me to come here, but I had no idea that th-th-this was what he had intended," Hakuryuu confessed while looking at the ground.

"Do you not know how to dance?" he inquired.

His face still flushed, Hakuryuu responded, "N-n-no. I had to go through a lot of rehabilitation for my burns as a child, so I wasn't able to pick it up as part of my royal education at an early age. When I grew older, the Kou Empire focused more on combat training than formal etiquette, so I received training regimens that were more practical for warfare." Hakuryuu had scrunched up his eyes and his body was slightly trembling.

Thinking back, the moment Alibaba had set eyes on Hakuryuu at the docks, his entire body had screamed for him to hate that detestable prince of the Kou Empire. However, seeing Hakuryuu like this now, Alibaba couldn't find it in himself to harbor any hostile feelings for such a modest and honest boy.

Hakuryuu looked up to see Alibaba with an outstretched arm and a smile that could vanquish the darkest nightmare. "Well, there's no better time to learn."

With an uneasy expression, Hakuryuu grasped Alibaba's palm.

"I was taught an abundance of dances by my royal educators when I lived back in the palace at Balbadd." Alibaba pulled Hakuryuu to the center of the chamber and Hakuryuu stumbled along. "I think it would be easier to focus on some simple footwork to start." Alibaba spun Hakuryuu to face him and clasped his other hand in his own.

They stared at each other for a moment, making Hakuryuu tense up and shuffle in discomfort. Sensing Hakuryuu's unease, Alibaba broke into a grin that glowed like a fireplace on Christmas. Hakuryuu's expression softened, and he smiled meekly.

"Just move your feet to match my steps. After a while, your body will get used to the movement." Hakuryuu squeezed Alibaba's hands to calm his nerves as Alibaba slowly started shifting his feet, one step at a time, with Hakuryuu tentatively mimicking him.

"Ah!" Alibaba blurted out just as Hakuryuu stomped on his foot.

"I-I-I am deeply sorry, Alibaba-dono!"

"Don't worry about it, it didn't hurt that much" Alibaba comforted him, rubbing the back of his own head with one hand and patting Hakuryuu on the shoulder with the other. For some reason, while holding Hakuryuu this close, a bump to his foot and even the aches from his swordfighting with Sharrkan were the last things on his mind.

Resuming their promenade, they spent hours locked in each other's arms, moving over every tile in the chamber. Hakuryuu eventually grew accustomed to the rhythmic footwork, and was able to perform sweeping glides, quick taps, and a variety of twirls.

As Hakuryuu kept Alibaba in an embrace, he could notice the warmth and firmness of his skin. He was able to perceive the faint scent of freshly baked bread and tropical fruits that emanated from his body. He realized how his golden hair would catch the light at some angles and create a spectacularly summery feeling. And he was stunned by how his yellow eyes glowed with a kind intensity.

After they were both at their limit, they hesitantly parted from each other, and then sat down beside one another. They were both lightly panting, their chests rising and falling in exhaustion, and droplets of sweat rolled down their temples. Hakuryuu glanced at Alibaba. "Honestly, thank you so much for this. I couldn't have asked for a better sensei, Alibaba-dono." Hakuryuu paused for a moment, "And it's strange, but just by being next to you, I feel like I know you a lot better."

Alibaba looked back at Hakuryuu with a curious expression. "Actually, I feel the same way. After being this close to you for hours, I realized how soft, cool, and smooth your skin was. I could smell the faint scent of dew and mint leaves that clung to your body. I was able to really appreciate the rich yet harsh blackness of your hair and the intricacy of its arrangement. I could sense the cold determination resonating from your right eye that's as deep a blue as an underwater trench. And I saw the virtuous innocence that was hidden in your left eye that's as faint a blue as a cloudless midday sky in the middle of the desert." Alibaba shut his mouth really fast after he had finished speaking and jerked to look away from Hakuryuu. "A-a-anoo, I didn't mean to be weird or anything…"

Alibaba felt Hakuryuu's hand clutching his cheek, pulling Alibaba to face him again. As Alibaba turned his face, Hakuryuu leaned forward and pressed his lips against Alibaba's for a fleeting moment. Hakuryuu's closed eyes reopened gently as he retracted back to his normal sitting position.

"Wha-wha?" Alibaba sputtered.

Hakuryuu smiled timidly. He then stood up, bowed, and left through the curtained archway, leaving Alibaba wearing the stupidest expression.

The next morning, Alibaba caught Hakuryuu patrolling the beach, preparing the fireworks for the festival.

"Hey, Hakuryuu, about yesterday, I –"

With a devilish smile, Hakuryuu interrupted, "Were you wondering why I kissed you?" Alibaba looked dumbstruck. "It's nothing so complicated that you need to work yourself up over."

"Wh-Why then?"

"You were saying all those beautiful things about me, but you never said anything about my lips, Alibaba-dono."

"Wh-wha?"

Hakuryuu smirked, turned away from Alibaba, and started walking back to the town.

"Wait, what does that even mean?"

Hakuryuu continued walking and turned his head back toward Alibaba. Cupping one hand around his mouth, he shouted back, "See you at the festival, Alibaba-kun!"

Alibaba's face turned to stone for a good sixty seconds. Then, he muttered to himself, "-kun?"


End file.
